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Remember how often I’ve said that the trusty ol’ Coleman cooler is basically our family’s mascot?

Ours is one of those old plastic, pinch your fingers when you try to open it, models. But here’s the newer version.

(If you don’t know the story, you can click here find out more about our #yearofno that helped us pay off a ton of debt.)

Well…there’s only one way I could make that cooler even better.

And that’s to stop buying all those water bottles!

The Price of Water Bottles

I’ve always been able to justify buying disposable water bottles because they’re so darned cheap.

(Certainly cheaper than buying drinks every time we go out.)

And when I saw them at Sam’s Club at less than $3 for a 40 pack?? That really got me excited!

But at the same time, $3 saved is $3 earned.

So why doesn’t my frugal family just use a refillable water bottle instead?

Well, that’s gonna take a little brutal honesty.

The Price of Disorganization

For years, I’ve had our bottles stuck in a complete mess of a cabinet.

You could never find a matching lid and bottle.

And half the time, the 2 year old has them scattered all over the house anyway.

It’s been one of those things that’s gone on for so long that I forgot that (duh) there’s probably a better way to manage it!

I don’t have any before pictures, so just imagine a hodge podge of lids and bottles in here.

The Cheap and Easy Solution

Just by matching up the bottles and lids, I was able to declutter some of the things that had no matches. (Gotta love getting stuff out of the house!)

Then, I grabbed a cheapo shoe organizer (seriously, less than $7!) and hung it on my pantry door.

Voila!

Easy water bottles that kids (and parents) can grab and go anytime!

Not only am I looking forward to using fewer disposable water bottles, but I’m also thinking those cups with a lid might keep the 2 year old from washing her hands with her big brothers’ water cups!

A girl can dream…

Now It’s Your Turn…

Think about it. I had this simple solution staring me right in the face, but couldn’t see it because I have what my new favorite blog calls “slob blindness”.

Maybe you’ve got something like that going on in your life, too? Drop your ideas in the comments so we can all save money together!